Notch explains why Minecraft has yet to get Steam'd

Minecraft has been widely available for quite some time in various forms (alpha, beta), but when it fully launches this November, it won't be available on Steam. "Being on Steam limits a lot of what we're allowed to do with the game," Mojang president and founder Markus "Notch" Persson explains in a post on his Tumblr blog.

"We (probably?) wouldn't be able to, say, sell capes or have a map marketplace on minecraft.net that works with Steam customers in a way that keeps Valve happy," he adds. Notch worries that inclusion on Steam would divide the PC/Mac market of Minecraft users, rather than offer more to existing players.

It's not as though there's any animosity though, with Notch kicking off the post by lavishing a paragraph of praise upon "the best digital distribution platform I've ever seen." He also notes that Mojang "are talking to Valve about this" to try and make things work for everyone, but, understandably, "We just don't want to limit what we can do with Minecraft."

Minecraft Info

Description

Minecraft is a sandbox construction game created by Markus Persson. The game involves players creating and destroying various types of blocks in a three dimensional environment. The player can form fantastic structures, creations and artwork across the various multiplayer servers in multiple game modes.